Anodising rivets

[Jonnyb]

Can you anodise rivets and the manufactured head keep some colour after setting?

Thinking of anodising my panel black and would like the rivets to be the same colour.

 

[David Paule]

Why not just paint or wrap it? It'll be cheaper and probably as fast, but heavier (several grams).

Dave

 

[wirejock]

If possible, it won't be cheap.

I'm not familiar with rivets on an 8 panel, but Dave's solution is cheaper. Paint, wrap or powder coat.

 

[D-Dubya]

Anodize the whole thing when it's finished. There's probably a shop that can do it if you don't have the setup for it.

 

[climberrn]

A quick way is put a little matching spray paint in a dish, dab with Q tip, and touch the rivets. After they are set of course.

When I was finishing up my -7 I spent a better part of a week looking for black screws that didn’t rust for the panel. Ended up drilling a bunch of holes in a block of wood and screwing a bunch of AN Cad screws in. Hitting it with a brass wheel, then rattle canning them. Still looks good 12 years later.

 

[climberrn]

We powder coated my panel and a couple extra pieces while we were at it. Took a couple test pieces to a trophy shop and tried the laser etching. When they got the settings dialed in, they laser etched the whole panel for about $80.

 

[skirting_virga]

We powder coated my panel and a couple extra pieces while we were at it. Took a couple test pieces to a trophy shop and tried the laser etching. When they got the settings dialed in, they laser etched the whole panel for about $80.

I'd like to know more about this. I have a panel structure fabricated and trying to decide on powder coat vs. paint, but haven't come up with a solution for text yet. What does yours look like and what kind of business would I be looking for?

 

[lucas2696]

I'd like to know more about this. I have a panel structure fabricated and trying to decide on powder coat vs. paint, but haven't come up with a solution for text yet. What does yours look like and what kind of business would I be looking for?

Another option to consider would be Cerakote. When I re-did my panel I had a friend cerakote it and laser engrave all the markings. It's very durable and adds virtually no thickness or weight. It's typically a firearm coating, so if if you find a business that does cerakote and custom laser engraving on guns they should be able to do it.

Can you anodise rivets and the manufactured head keep some colour after setting?

Thinking of anodising my panel black and would like the rivets to be the same colour.

I also had the screws for my flap tower access panels cerakoted to match the panels and so far it has held up great so you may think about that.

 

[planenutz]

The answer to your question is yes, you can anodise rivets.

The colour will not be as deep or as rich as you would want for the panel aesthetics as it would likely turn out a dull, transparent kind of matt, not a gloss. I suspect it would definitely get bruised during riveting too, so you would almost certainly be better wrapping, painting or cerakoting as mentioned already.

The anodising process is not difficult though... you could give it a go and see how you get on.